SPUR and Seamless Bay Area provide joint comments to the MTC Legislative Committee regarding the development of authorizing legislation for a potential regional transportation measure.

A new SPUR research paper digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. Using a national survey and three case studies of middle-income housing production programs, the paper reveals that the need for middle-income housing is growing, and it's felt nationwide — not just in expensive coastal cities. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges

SPUR and a coalition of advocacy groups urge the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to proceed with distribution $745 million in state and regional funding to support transit operations.

On October 25th, MTC Commissioners discussed and voted on proposed amendments that will eliminate the need for jurisdictions to comply with the Transit-Oriented Communities Policy in order to receive transit extension funding. A coalition of regional policy and advocacy organizations urged the Commission to not arbitrarily lower thresholds for policy compliance due to some Bay Area cities resisting compliance. These actions will weaken incentives to comply with the policy and undermine its purpose of helping the region achieve its goals for the climate and equity under Plan Bay Area.

The San Francisco Bay Area Local Food Purchasing Collaborative, a partnership between 12 Bay Area public institutions, is combining its purchasing power to procure food that is local, sustainable, fair, humane, and healthy. SPUR worked with the collaborative to prepare a roadmap and toolkit of resources to assist policy makers and advocates interested in approaching values-based procurement as a region.

On October 13th, MTC staff presented to the MTC-ABAG Planning Committee proposed actions to amend funding conditioning for transit rail extension projects from complying with the TOC Policy. Our coalition expressed concern with the proposed amendments that would delay or lower thresholds for compliance - weakening the policy in the process and undermining its purpose of helping the region achieve its goals under Plan Bay Area. We are particularly concerned that the proposed changes could significantly undermine the climate and equity goals of the policy.

Converting empty offices into apartments could both reanimate downtown San Francisco and provide housing for more people in an area rich in transit, jobs, culture, recreation, and entertainment. In a first-of-its-kind study, SPUR and ULI San Francisco, in partnership with Gensler and HR&A Advisors, explored the physical suitability of converting office buildings to housing and tested the financial feasibility of such projects. Our report lays out six policy imperatives for realizing office-to-housing conversions on a large scale.

We represent a broad base of interested stakeholders and organizations who are writing to express our firm belief that funding for parks and placemaking should be protected in the city’s budget as cuts are considered to balance a newly approved labor agreement. In these times of San José’s evolving urbanization, preserving our parks and placemaking efforts is an investment in the future. The pandemic demonstrated the indispensable offerings that parks and public spaces bring to the community – parks and public spaces are “essential services” not simply “nice to haves.”

SPUR provides comments and input on early MTC staff work to develop a potential regional transportation measure that could go to the ballot in 2026.

Currently, transit delays and unreliability can make riding the bus a nonstarter for those who have other options for getting around. Growing segregation of the transit system is inequitable, unsustainable, and inefficient. Giving transit vehicles priority on Bay Area roads can deliver the speed and reliability improvements needed to get more people on buses and out of cars. SPUR offers 16 recommendations for aligning the interests of transit agencies and local jurisdictions to greenlight these improvements.

The Bay Area faces enormous challenges from sea level rise not just because of our physical location, but also because of our fragmented governance. Senate Bill 272 will give the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission authority to work with local government to develop consistent, equitable, and effective shoreline resilience plans that protect vulnerable communities.